2020 will be a year that lives long in many people’s memories, for better and for worse. Thankfully, there have been some fantastic experiences on mobile to help us all through these particularly trying times.
The games industry is thriving despite the devastating effects of COVID, and the mobile sector has also seen extraordinary growth this year. Games have undeniably been a force for good under unprecedented circumstances.
With that, we’ve reached out to several members of the industry for their insight, thoughts and personal experiences throughout 2020. We’re on a mission to discover favourite mobile games, how has the industry coped under the pandemic, and what we could see in 2021 and beyond.
This time we’re catching up with Kristan Rivers, CEO of AdInMo.
PocketGamer.biz:What do you think was the biggest news or event for the mobile games industry in 2020?
Kristan Rivers: Unity’s IPO was huge news for the mobile games industry. Although Unity’s impact goes well beyond mobile, the size of the IPO shined a long-overdue spotlight on the maturity and potential of our industry and the enormous diverse audiences that play mobile games.
Which mobile game do you think had the biggest impact on the industry this year?
Not just for mobile of course, but Roblox (set to IPO in 2021) has grown enormously, and rightly so. Like Minecraft showed before, there’s huge economic value to be gained by placing the power of agency and creativity into your users’ hands.
What is your top mobile game of 2020?
Among Us was released a couple of years ago, but the social teamwork & treachery game really hit its stride in lockdown 2020. It’s a Friday afternoon favourite within the AdInMo team. For the record – our CTO Chris is most definitely sus!
What do you think will be the biggest trend over the next 12 months?
I know you expect me to say this, but I fundamentally believe that monetisation from non-interruptive advertising and InGamePlay brand ads will be the break-through trend in mobile games in 2021. The IDFApocalypse will force developers to rethink ad models. You’ll see more experimentation and greater creativity with immersive ads meaning performance marketing will no longer drive players out of games. I’m not the only one who thinks this: according to the recent PGC and AdInMo developer survey, 46 per cent of developers agree that dynamic in-game advertising is a key opportunity in 2021.
In terms of your company, what’s the thing you’re most proud of during 2020?
In the past twelve months we’ve built an amazing team that is dedicated to creating a more authentic way to monetize mobile games with in-game advertising.
What are you most looking forward to in 2021?
A widespread solution to the COVID19 situation and getting back to meeting as an industry. I miss having beers with my friends and colleagues. To everyone reading this who knows me – first round on me!
The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is a beautiful and beguiling retelling of one of the world’s best known gothic horror tales. It sees you playing as the titular creature, exploring what it means to be human. The actions you take will change the atmosphere of the game, as well as altering the direction the story takes.
The game, which is a co-development between ARTE and La Belle Games and is published by ARTE, took three years to make, and that level of commitment shines through. Frankenstein’s monster is born without a moral compass, not knowing the difference between good and evil. That forms the emotional heart of the game, letting you experience kindness and beauty, but also hate and anger, from a completely new perspective.
You’ll work your way through 18 levels of point-and-click adventuring, all of them presented in a gorgeous watercolor style that apes the Romantic era. These change from light and bright to gloomy and dark depending on the mood of the creature. The icing on the cake is a spectacular soundtrack that captures the essence of the experience perfectly.
This is one of those games that’s going to stick with you. It’s driven by an engrossing and affecting narrative, and filled with difficult choices that are going to make you ask yourself some pretty tough questions. It’s introspective in all the right ways, while still managing to be really entertaining.
The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is available right now from the App Store, Google Play Store and Steam. It’s an adventure that’s going to make you think long and hard about your own life, and it’s hard to think of a better recommendation than that.
You can find out more about The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature by checking its official website and Twitter page. It’s not the only game in the ARTE catalogue that’s worth checking out, though. In fact, there are a bunch of unique, exciting experiences from the company that you should definitely think about giving a go.
Homo Machina
A narrative adventure inspired by the work of Fritz Kahn. It’s all about the internal workings of the human body, and sees you trying to solve 30 brilliantly designed puzzles filled with mechanical representations of our internal systems. Throw in a superb narrative and an intriguing cast of characters and you’ve got an experience that’s not to be missed.
A psychedelic rhythm game that’s as addictive as it is entertaining. There are 30 tracks to bounce along, and a bunch of treacherous levels to try to get to the end of. Aside from the main single player mode, there’s a collaborative multiplayer option if you’d like to play with friends. The PC version even has a level editor mode. Vectronom is beguiling, fast-paced and loads of challenging fun. Vectronom is available on iOS, Android, Steam and Nintendo Switch.
ORDESA
Ordesa blurs the line between an art-house movie and a narrative adventure game in some truly impressive ways. You play as a ghost and explore a strange house by tilting your phone or tablet. There are secrets to uncover and strange incidents to trigger. It might only be an hour long, but there’s so much stuffed into this one that you won’t be able to put it down for a second. ORDESA is available on iOS, Android and AppleTV.
Type: Rider
An adventure puzzler that sees you working your way through the history of typography. You’ll start off traversing cave paintings, before working your way through more modern typesets, all the way up to the pixel art of the modern era. And you’re going to have an absolute blast while you’re doing it. Type:Rider is available on iOS and Android.
Vandals
This one’s all about sneaking through the streets of famous cities and literally leaving your mark. You’ll spray paint tags, try and stay one step ahead of the police and create your own art along the way. From Paris to New York, Sao Paolo to Tokyo, it’s up to you to reclaim the streets. Vandal is available on iOS and Android.
Wondering how to get Coin Master free spins? You’ve come to the right place. This is an addictive mobile game by design. It combines the thrill of playing slots with the social battling of Clash of Clans to create something that you just can’t put down; in a good way. The problem is, you so often have to put it down if you’re not willing to fork out the cash for regular spins. That’s understandable when as little as 30 spins will set you back £1.99 in the UK or $1.99 in the US.
Fortunately for you though, there are a wide number of means of getting Coin Master free spins, reducing the need for you to spend and increasing the speed at which you can progress throughout this addictive experience. Many of them are easy to pull off too, so you don’t have to worry about going through complicated maneuvres to carry on playing your favourite game.
In this guide, we’re going to provide you with all of the ways you can get your hands on a few free spins here and there. This will allow you to continue playing long after your daily free spins run out, and provide you with the means of getting extra, without the need to spend your hard-earned money on premium spins in the game’s store. We’d also recommend checking out our Coin Master free cards and Coin Master free coins guides to get even more rewards.
Coin master free spins – daily links:
Below are daily links that you can follow to get a bunch of free spins in Coin Master. We update these every day with new links so it’s worth bookmarking this page and checking back each day to get even more.
It’s worth noting that the links expire after three days, so those from the two prior are still good to go.
December 28
December 27
December 26
How can I get free spins in Coin Master?
Here are a bunch of tips to help you get even more free spins in Coin Master.
Follow coin master on social media
Each day, Moon Active, Coin Master’s developer, provides a bunch of links that you can follow to get your hands on Coin Master free spins. If you keep on top of this, you can get a steady stream of free stuff for very little effort. You can follow Coin Master on Facebook or Twitter.
Sign up for email gifts
If you sign up for email gifts, you can get yourself a handful of Coin Master free spins every single day just be following a link on your phone. We haven’t encountered any spam from signing up so far either, so it’s a quick and easy method of getting yourself some tasty free spins.
Invite friends
Each time you invite a friend who successfully joins Coin Master through Facebook, you’ll get 40 Coin Master free spins, which is considerable. They don’t even have to actually play the game; they simply have to download it and login via their Facebook account to get you the free spins. Of course, it’s in both your interests to actually play it, which brings us nicely to our next point.
Request spins as gifts
You can get up to 100 Coin Master free spins per day from friends, though to get to those heights you’ll need 100 active friends who are kind enough to send you a gift each day. Each gift consists of a single free spin.
Unless you’re incredibly popular, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have 100 friends; let alone 100 that will actually deign to play a game with you. We recommend heading on over to the official Reddit community or Facebook communities to try and find people willing to play with you.
Watch video ads
You can get a limited number of Coin Master free spins per day by watching a video ad. Simply scroll to the slot machine and tap on the spin energy button on the bottom right. If it’s not there, you’ve run out of free spins you can get through this method for the day, but if it is, simply tap on it and you’ll watch an ad.
Spin
Ironically, you can actually get a ton of Coin Master free spins by, well, spinning. If you get three spin energy symbols in a row, you’ll get a bunch of free spins. Pick up a chain of them and you can spin for ages before you run out.
Level up your village
Each time you level up your village, you’ll get a bunch of Coin Master free spins. It’s not easy though, as it costs a considerable amount of gold to purchase new buildings and improve them, and you have to purchase every single one of them, including improvements, to level up. That’s going to cost a lot of spins, as it is.
Participate in events
There’s almost always at least one event happening in Coin Master, and it can absolutely shower you with free spins. While viewing the slot machine, look at the top right of the screen. Any virtual buttons that you can see beneath the menu (which is displayed as three lines) is an event. Tap on one and you’ll see what each event involves.
Take advantage of these events and you can get yourself a lot more Coin Master free spins than usual.
Wait
This is an obvious suggestion, but it’s actually worth taking into consideration. You get five free spins every single hour, and you can only hold a maximum of 50 spins at any one time. That means every ten hours you’ll hit the maximum number of spins, and any Coin Master free spins you would have earned after that will cease to exist.
So, we recommend setting a reminder to visit Coin Master every ten hours at least to spend your spins so you are always earning more. You’ll actually end up earning a huge number of extra spins if you’re dedicated, so it’s totally worth doing.
Coin Master free spins FAQ:
Now, we’ll answer a bunch of questions you may have regarding getting Coin Master free spins.
Do Coin Master spins links expire?
Yes, the daily links that we include at the top of this page expire after three days, which is why we only include those from today and the two days prior.
Can I get Coin Master 50 spin rewards?
Coin Master 50 spin rewards most commonly appear during in-game events, like those that reward you for raiding or battling other players. There’s also a small chance to get this number from daily links, so bookmark this page and check back often.
How do I get Coin Master 60 spins?
Yes, though it doesn’t appear to happen often from daily links. We’d recommend playing often and participating in events, and following the social media channels to find out what’s happening soon.
How do I get Coin Master 70 spins?
We’ve never seen a Coin Master 70 spin reward appear as part of the daily links, but it has been known to appear as part of special events.
To get your hands on this rare reward, we would recommend playing on a daily basis and following the social media channels to get an indication of when the next big event will take place.
How do I get Coin Master 100 spins?
Yes, though not from the daily links. We’ve seen this number of free spins appear often during in-game events, most notably for those that reward you for raiding and participating in PvP battles.
Play often and follow the social media channels for events to keep an eye out for this.
How do I get Coin Master 400 spins?
Again, 400 spin rewards don’t seem to appear as part of the daily rewards cycle, but have been known to crop up during events. Follow the socials and play regularly to get the best chance at this reward.
There’s nothing quite like being blown away by a game you’ve never even heard of before. Or at least one you think you’ve never heard of before. For me this week that game was QV – The Dimension Painter($4.99), a game that launched on Nintendo Switch to some decent acclaim just about a month ago. Looking into the developer izzle a bit more and, as it turns out, this is something of a follow-up to a 2016 mobile game they released called simply Dimension Painter, a game that I actually posted the thread for in our forums back then. It seems that on some level I DID know of this game already, albeit in a different form and practically in a different lifetime.
Whatever the case, I wish I had paid a bit more attention to the original Dimension Painter several years ago because the mix of mechanics used there and in this newer QV – The Dimension Painter version are really great. One of the main elements is reminiscent of Sokoban. You’ll be pushing boxes around, often onto switches that will open gates to allow you to progress in a level. There’s also these special stones you can either turn into a regular doorway to walk through or turn into a portal, and coupled with another stone turned into a portal somewhere else on a level, you can instantly travel between the two. These are used in a way that’s very reminiscent of, well, the Portal games.
Your character also wields a gigantic paintbrush and there are inkwells strategically placed throughout each level. Using the ink you can create a walkable surface on top of water, but it is only temporary, so you’ll need to be swift and tactical with how you use this strange ability. Other mechanics surface the further you dig into the game, but everything in QV – The Dimension Painter pretty much revolves around activating and then reaching an exit door on every level. The level designs are incredibly clever and feature multiple difficulties to play through, with each difficulty actually significantly changing up the placement of objects and makeup of a level, making it feel like a whole new challenge.
The interesting blend of mechanics in QV – The Dimension Painter was equally interesting in the original 2016 Dimension Painter, but a big criticism of that game was its lack of polish, and that is not a problem in this new version at all. The game features some really lovely 3D visuals, characters that are full of personality, and an extremely strange but entertaining story tying everything together. This reminds me of a game that would have released on the Dreamcast back in the day, as there’s a quirkiness to it that I enjoy a lot. If you too enjoy puzzlers that will make you think on a variety of levels, and enjoy fully premium games with no IAP, I can recommend checking out QV – The Dimension Painter and dropping by the game’s thread in our forums to share your thoughts about it.
The games industry plays host to a colourful cast of diverse individuals, from artists and coders to narrative designers and studio heads.
The skills to pull off these roles, however, are complex and differing, with each position requiring mastery in its field – especially in these complex times we are all living through at the minute.
To highlight some of the brilliant work that goes on behind the scenes as well as how employees around the world are adapting to the life of remote work, PocketGamer.biz is reaching out to the individuals who make up the games industry in our Jobs in Games: Remote Working series.
This week we spoke with N3twork development director of Tetris Mari Burns.
PocketGamer.biz: Can you tell us about your current role and what it entails?
Mari Burns: I am a development director at N3twork for Tetris and Tetris Clash. My job is to facilitate the production of the project through every phase of development: design, art, engineering, media and QA.
For those who don’t play video games, I think it’s misunderstood as a filler of time, rather than a creative or intellectual space.
Mari Burns
I’m also the liaison to our marketing and UA partners, as well as being in charge of keeping stakeholders and licensors abreast of our current status and following discussions. I like to compare it to being an air traffic controller of sorts, being aware of all incoming and outgoing activity while being the hub of communication and managing schedules and safety.
How did you first get into games and how did you progress into this role?
I came into games a bit sideways. I got my first taste of production in live-action film but spent the majority of my career in CG-animated film. In 2014 I wanted to widen my horizons, and also tap into the gamer side of me – I’ve always played games – and started working on narrative projects, first in console, then in mobile.
I could go on and on comparing/contrasting film vs. games, but my job really is not that different, just the focus and pace is much faster and data-driven in my current role.
What did you study (if anything) to get your role? What courses would you advise for aspiring professionals in the area?
I am the walking poster child of not having studied towards my career. I have a B.S. from UC Berkeley and my intent was to go into a track for protecting the environment with a focus on international development. I still think that would be a great cause.
The problem is I was so obviously not engaged in what I studied, and it played out. I spent years working in restaurants while trying out various things until I found production. My advice for aspiring professionals is to go with your gut and get as much experience and exposure to the type of work you might want to pursue as possible.
Do you think there are any misconceptions, public or professional, surrounding your area of expertise?
I think the games industry is becoming more and more legitimised by the general public. There is the recognition that it is a “real job” and it has also become an enviable one among certain demographics. But like many industries, the audience is still somewhat limited. For those who don’t play video games, I think it’s misunderstood as a filler of time, rather than a creative or intellectual space.
These misconceptions are rapidly shifting, especially with the success of many games companies. The other big misconception is what it means to be a producer (which I am also called, though my title is development director) – that title itself is somewhat generic and open to interpretation, so people often have a hard time understanding what I do unless they are in the same industry.
What advice do you have for someone looking for a job in this profession?
I would stress this is not a typical job – it’s a passion job, in that every angle and approach is appreciated but inspiration can come at any time. It’s the same for any entertainment industry – except we do get to treat it like a day job, unlike some other creative pursuits. But it is very detailed, hard work with lots of moving pieces.
The profession suits the nimble, the resourceful, and the collaborative. It will not be enjoyable to anyone who really wants things defined or to go perfectly. And the art of the job is not just doing the job, but having fun and making it fun for others. Sounds strange but I think it’s true!
How has the shift from office to remote working impacted your role, if at all?
The only change to remote working, in my particular circumstance, is the lack of required commute and more convenience. I use the same equipment and attend the same meetings. N3twork already had a strong online culture because we have multiple studios in different time zones.
We all agree remotely working together is not the same as developing relationships through live interactions in the same space…
Mari Burns
It almost leveled the field by dismantling the office culture, which varied by location, to instead promote company culture. We all agree remotely working together is not the same as developing relationships through live interactions in the same space, but we can and have built relationships over remote work.
I actually feel like I’m better able to focus and feel connected, which is important to my role, because I can manage more obligations at home by being present. My workday gives me flexibility in when and how to get things done.
What does your typical day look like when working remotely?
By choice, I currently live in a time zone three hours behind the San Francisco office, where I was originally based. I wake up at approx 5:30 am and stay in meetings for the first three to four hours starting at six. If you knew me in a previous life, you would say there was a body switch. I am not a morning person! But I stay on Californian time and take my lunch when it’s still morning where I am.
The time between meetings is being vigilant on Slack, N3twork choice of communication platform. It’s helped create the sense of the team being able to work in sync, as opposed to things we do asynchronously due to our local time. It’s also more efficient to resolve things or answer any questions as they come up, to leave less loose ends to have to come back to, or in the worst cases, get lost.
What do you think are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of remote working?
In 2020, because of remote working, I am closer to the work/life balance I think I have been looking for. My story is a bit unique, in that coincidentally, we invested in a rental property in Hawaii in January 2020. I did not foresee that by April, I would have moved with my family to protect the investment so that we could not only keep an eye on it but also do a lot of known needed repairs.
Five months later, we are still here and because I end work when it’s still daylight out, we get a lot more outdoor time and I am already at home when my son is out of (virtual) school. I’ve never felt closer to my husband. I’m able to see and empathise with what he does all day at work and communicate much more frequently throughout the day.
Burns’ remote working setup in California.
Since we are basically living in nature, that has really, really helped us through this global crisis. We feel incredibly lucky, and didn’t actually plan it but stumbled into an ideal situation.
The disadvantage, of course, is the isolation. Sometimes I miss the hallway chats, or the chance to go grab lunch with a coworker. I’m on a bit of an island, on an island. It’s not as easy to joke around, as the spontaneous in-between moments just can’t come up during focused meetings. But the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, and these also feel less weighty since it’s the same struggle for everyone.
Is there anything you wish you had known before moving to remote working?
Remote working best practices I’ve picked up during the year:
Invest in quality setup: extra monitor, headset (because audio is hard for meetings without a headset), and a solid internet connection
Have a comfortable workspace and furniture. I bought mine which was okay for now because I did not think it would become a more permanent setup. And I still wish I had splurged a bit more on the chair, and an ergo-friendly desk
Create a regular recurring meeting to just chat with the folks you need to work with. It can be for a concentrated duration until you develop an understanding and rapport, or just to maintain camaraderie. It can feel like “one more meeting” but if you keep it casual, and short if there’s nothing to talk about, the regularity does create a rhythm and helps build rapport.
I truly think that the environment and our physicality is what is tough on people.
Mari Burns
Do you have any advice for others who are struggling to adjust to remote work?
I truly think that the environment and our physicality is what is tough for people. I spend far too much time at one spot in my house, eat at my desk because I’m at home, and don’t go outside. I think the co-workers I really want to emulate are the ones who have a lot of self-care discipline: a workout routine, to really leave the house for a walk or have blocks of time where they do not check messages on their mobile devices.
We are working remotely which is a new pattern, both mentally and physically. It can be taxing, and we must allow ourselves to treat going to work and being at work with the same breaks. Conversely – try to stick to a routine.
After the pandemic ends and if you were given the choice, would you prefer to continue working remotely or go back to working in an office?
If given the binary choice, I would most definitely stay remote, and lucky for me N3twork has switched to a permanently-distributed model. I appreciate the flexibility of travel (when we can travel again) and the lessened stress of the hustle-and-bustle of commuting.
My days are not the same every day: some are much longer than others, so working remotely also has allowed me a bit more freedom to be able to do more with the rare slow days, which I could not in an office. But what I really would love is a flexible remote working schedule, where perhaps part of my day would be in an office, or better yet a local cafe, for the irreplaceable currency of live human interaction.
Everybody loves a fish out of water story – particularly when the fish is a pampered urbanite and the water is an isolated rural community. Schitt’s Creek is just the latest in a long line of examples that also happens to include GameHouse’s Primrose Lake time-management games.
Primrose Lake: Twists of Fate, the sequel to last year’s Welcome to Primrose Lake, refreshes the fish out of water narrative with a new fish: the “InstaTwit”-obsessed socialite Persimmon Hollister.
It refreshes the gameplay formula a bit, too. Whereas the first Primrose Lake game saw you buying chapters one at a time, Primrose Lake: Twists of Fate is a straight-up free to play game in which you don’t technically need to spend anything to reach the end.
But if you can pull off that feat of dexterity and time-management, you deserve some kind of gaming medal.
Once again the game is split up into chapters, with only the first – Persimmon Steals the Show – available at launch. This chapter is made up of three episodes, set in three different locations, and it starts at Persimmon’s newly re-opened Primrose Lake Hotel and Spa.
The time-management gameplay is fairly conventional. Customers arrive, speech bubbles appear above their heads indicating that they’re about to ask you something, and then icons fill the speech bubbles explaining what they want.
For instance, a typical customer might start by asking for a key before going to his room, ordering a coffee, a newspaper, and a towel from room service, and then paying on his way out, after which you need to clean the room to get it ready for the next guest.
Some items are easy to fetch. The towels, for instance, come from an infinite pile. Coffee needs to be poured, which takes a bit of time, and newspapers come from a pile of six on your counter that you have to replenish every so often from the stack outside.
The re-opening narrative feeds into the gameplay, since every new stage sees a new product or service arriving in your spa as it gets up and running. Eventually you’ll be able to provide firewood, fresh flowers, and cookies, adding to your burden of tasks.
Fortunately, you can make your life easier by spending the money you earn as a hotelier on upgrades to your equipment, adding slots to your inventory, speeding up the coffee-making process, adding to your cookie range, and so on. You’ll also get access to boosts as you progress through the campaign.
How well you do, or whether you pass the stage at all, is down to a number of factors. For one, you need to fulfil your orders as quickly as possible. Each customer has a slowly disappearing row of hearts over their head, and if they all vanish that customer is gone. On the other hand, you get bonus points for serving them while all five hearts are intact.
You also get bonus points for serving all items in a customer’s order at once, checking out multiple customers at once, and generally being fast and efficient. Plus, there’s a raccoon in each stage – smash that with your finger and you’ll get a whole star.
Once you’ve completed the Spa stages, you move to the general store, which subtly shakes things up. For instance, you need to fill baskets with products and fetch items from all around the shop, some of which are quite difficult to spot. It’s here that life starts to get really difficult.
Primrose Lake: Twists of Fate is developed by SQRT3, whose slogan is “casual games for core players”.
And, oh boy, do you need to be a core player to get ahead in this game. Welcome to Primrose Lake was already challenging, but the free-to-play makeover has turned Primrose Lake: Twist of Fate into a real test of skill.
By the time you’re into the second episode, it feels as though you have to pull off a perfect run every time. This isn’t helped by the demanding nature of the controls. Sometimes, you’ll feel like you are pulling off a perfect run, only to be slapped with a fail message.
Time-management games are frantic affairs that bring out the button-masher in the most zen-like players. But if you mash a button in Primrose Lake: Twists of Fate, you have to watch helplessly as your character shakes their head repeatedly, once for each press.
And if you tap on the wrong place, you have to watch your character doggedly cross the screen to reach it, ignoring your desperate attempts to cancel the order by tapping somewhere else. This forces you to stay calm and deliberate, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it can be very frustrating.
Ultimately, Primrose Lake: Twists of Fate is still under construction, with chapters and upgrades still labelled “coming soon”. We hope that while the developers are working on the new content they’ll find time to tweak the balancing, because at the moment it feels like the difficulty leans too far towards encouraging players to spend gems to make progress.
Otherwise, Primrose Late: Twists of Fate is another dose of challenging, addictive time-management gameplay embroidered with a surprisingly rich story about the weird stuff that goes on in the country.
December 16, 2020: We’ve added the latest advanced server 1.5.38 patch notes to our Mobile Legends update guide.
It’s fair to say that we get plenty a Mobile Legends update on mobile. Developer Moonton likes to keep you on your toes with regular balancing, nerfing, and optimising your favourite heroes over time, to ensure that no particular option proves that much more powerful, or weaker, than the others. The latest update is no different either, as you’ll see below.
In this guide, we’re going to cover every single Mobile Legends update, detailing the latest and upcoming changes to the game. We’ll go through each of the patch notes to walk you through the changes so you know exactly what to expect. We’ll also cover any big Mobile Legends events happening, to help you make the most of them.
We’ll update this guide regularly with the latest Mobile Legends update and events, so we thoroughly recommend bookmarking it and checking back often to see what’s new. You can also check out our Mobile Legends new hero guide for more information about the latest new, or upcoming, heroes, and our beginner’s Mobile Legends guide if you’re just getting started.
Check out the latest Mobile Legends update:
Advanced server – 1.5.38
Clint
Quick Draw base damage: 200-400 → 250-450
Quick Draw mana cost: 85-105 → 60-85
Trapping Recoil cooldown: 12-9.5s → 10-8s
Trapping Recoil cooldown reduction for hitting enemies: 50% → 40%
Benedetta
Phantom Slash cast time has been reduced
Phantom Slash base damage of shadow: 300-500 → 200-400
Phantom Slash base damage of slashes: 180-300 → 100-220
An Eye for An Eye grants Benedetta Sword intent once she successfully blocks damage
Elapsed Daytime damage of enhanced basic attack: 100 + total physical attack 220% → 50 + total physical attack 200%
Elapsed Daytime damage to creeps and minions: 30% → 40%
Barats
Barats base HP: 2709 → 2559
Barats HP growth: 249 → 229
Detona’s Welcome cooldown: 42-30s → 50-40s
Lunox
Chaos Assault base damage: 240-340 → 200-300
Chaos Assault magic power bonus: 120% → 130%
Chaos Assault damage bonus: 2%-4.5% → 1.5%-3.5% of the enemy’s HP. Now takes effect when hitting creeps
Power of Chaos Darkening cooldown: 18-14s → 25-15s
Jawhead
Ejector base shield: 600-1000 → 350-800
Ejector total physical attack bonus: 100% → 140%
Alice
Blood Ode base damage: 140-180 → 120-160
Blood Ode HP Regen: 70-80 → 65-80
Blood Ode mana cost: 50-100 → 50-90
Ling
Finch Poise energy cost: 35-25 → 35
Estes
Moonlight Immersion now causes movement speed to increase by 15% when linking with an ally
An issue relating to the skill indicator of Estes’ enhanced skill has been addressed
Hilda
Blessing of Wilderness shield gained when entering the bush: 20% → 15% of max HP
Harith
Chrono Dash base shield: 150-350 → 150-300
Chrono Dash total magic power bonus: 150% → 120%
Selena
Soul Eater base damage of the next basic attack’s extra damage: 300-400 → 200-350
Soul Eater total magic power bonus: 110% → 130%
Pharsa
Feathered Air Strike cooldown: 28-22s → 36-28s
Battlefield
Outer Turret has a new effect. When the energy shield is active, any damage sustained by nearby heroes is decreased by 10%
The initial movement speed of middle-lane minions has been decreased by 6%
The display of the HP bar sections has been tweaked to allow for simpler damage calculations
Jawhead ‘Samurai Mech’ battle spell effects have been optimised
Jungle
Fiend spawn time: 30s → 25s
Fiend physical and magic defence growth per minute: 5 → 2
Serpent spawn time: 30s → 25s
Serpent physical defence growth per minute: 5 → 2
Cryoturtle spawn time: 180s → 120s
Cryoturtle physical and magic defence: 37 → 80
Equipment
The icons for Divine Glaive, Arcane Boots, and Rose Gold Meteor have been tweaked based on player feedback
ADVANCED SERVER – 1.5.34
Paquito
Champ Stance gains stacks only when Pacquito damages any target with his skills
Champ Stance physical attack bonus: 60% → 70%
Jab now has a slightly enlarged area of effect
Argus
Warmonger new effect: Restores HP equal to 30 + 30% total physical attack for each enhanced basic attack.
Warmonger enhanced basic attack only triggers 50% of the Devour effect of Demon Hunter Sword
Warmonger: Argus’ demonic blade takes more time to charge
Meteoric Sword bleeding damage: 10% → 20% total physical attack
Eternal Evil cooldown: 80-50s → 80-60s
Alpha
Beta, Advance! new effect: Continuous attacks slow target by 90% each time for 0.2s
Rotary Impact base damage of slashes: 210-310 → 200-300
Rotary Impact base damage of Beta’s Strafe: 90-165 → 100-150
Rotary Impact slow effect: 70% for 2s → 40% for 1s
Rotary Impact cooldown: 7-4s → 4s
Rotary Impact mana cost: 60 → 50
Force Swing base damage of strikes: 160-460 → 250-400
Force Swing total physical attack bonus of strike: 170% → 100%
Force Swing base damage of Beta’s Strafe: 790-165 → 75-120
Force Swing base HP regen: 150-300 → 125-200
Force Swing adjustment: +40% total Magic Power → +20% total physical attack
Force Swing cooldown: 6s → 6-4s
Spear of Alpha cooldown: 24-20s → 20-12s
Spear of Alpha stun duration: 1.3s → 1s
Harley
Magic Master new effect: Reduces 4 Magic Defence of every target hit for 3s, capped at 10 stacks
Poker Trick cooldown: 7s → 6s
Deadly Magic cooldown: 32-24s → 36-30s
Fixed issue where damage of Poker Trick slightly decreased during ultimate
Deadly Thorns HP increase obtained from equipment items: 15% → 50%
Deadly Thorns adjustment: 120-260 + 0.8% of max HP → 100-170 + 2% of max HP
Barats
Detona’s Welcome cast time: +60%
System functions
Camera Following Bullets: Press and hold skill to let the camera follow bullets to see as far as they hit. This applies to the following heroes:
Alice (Skill 1)
Moskov (Ultimate)
Selena (Skill 2 while in Elf form)
Advanced Server – 1.5.32
Argus (Revamped)
Warmonger: Strikes three times instead of two, starting with two rapid slashes, then thrusting his blade forward for the third
Demonic Grip: Puts hand out towards enemy. When target is hit, both sides are drawn towards each other, rather than Argus moving to the front of the target. Argus can make an extra slash whether Demonic Grip hits target or not
Meteoric Sword: Strikes enemies with a demonic blade. Hit enemies lose HP for four seconds while moving
Eternal Evil: Adds a new passive effect – gains permanent attack bonus after levelling up. This is in addition to the five second death immunity
PAQUITO
Parry damage reduction ratio: 30-40% → 45-60%
Parry damage reduction duraiton: 2s → 3s
Parry base damage: 220-320 → 245-420
Parry physical attack bonus: 60% → 70%
Parry enhanced new effect: Any hit enemy is slowed by 70% for one second
Parry enhanced based damage: 330-480 → 350-600
Parry enhanced physical attack bonus: 90% → 100%
Mathilda
Soul Bloom mana cost: 70-120 → 60-110
Guiding Wind magic power bonus from shield: 160% → 180%
Circling Eagle stun duration after striking: 1s → 0.6s
Circling Eagle knockback distance: -10%
Clint
Quick Draw decay ration of following bullets: 15-25% → 11-21%
Heavy-Sword: Fixed bug that caused it not to change direction on some occasions, as well as optimised skill casting and performance
Claude
Blazing Duet base damage of each hit: 70-100 → 120-160
Blazing Duet damage to minions: 400% → 300%
CHou
Shunpo physical attack bonus of shield: 150% → 200%
Luo yi
Dispersion skill width and casting speed: +10%
Dispersion mana cost: 60-100 → 50-90
Dispersion base damage: 230-430 → 210-410
Wanwan
Crossbow of Tang physical attack bonus: 50% → 40%
Cecilion
Sanguine Claws: Removed slow effect
Equipment
Roaming Equipment unique passive-thriving (When your Gold ranks the lowest, Gold gained every four seconds, which scales with equipment level): 8/10/12 → 8/10/14
Jungling equipment unique passive-greed (reduced of Gold and Exp from minions in the first fgive minutes): 30% → 40%
Abyss Impact Damage increase ratio for every target penetrated: 20% → 10%, with the limit: 160% → 130%
Torn-Apart Memory Extra Damage for Each Stack: 8% → 6-8% (scales with the skill level)
Lapu-Lapu
Homeland Defender Shield Increase for each level: 50 → 65
Raging Slash Physical Attack Bonus of the third attack: 180% → 210%
Battlefield and system adjustments
Optimized the art of Gold and Exp Siege Minions
Optimized the art of the Bases and Turrets in the map “Imperial Sanctuary”
Equipment
Unique Passive-Greed: Reduces Exp from Minions in the first 3 minutes by 40% → Reduces Gold and Exp from Minions in the first 5 minutes by 30%, with extra 100 Gold for each kill or assist
Hunter’s Knife Unique Passive-Greed: Gain extra 25% Exp when jungling → Gain extra 25% Exp and 10% gold when jungling.
Hunter’s Knife Unique Passive-Greed: Gain extra 25% Exp when jungling → Gain extra 25% Exp and 20% gold when jungling.
Spell
Retribution Creep damage reduction when equipped with jungling equipment: 40% → 50%
Bug Fixes
Fixed the issue where Ling’s Finch Poise Skill 1 cannot be used after resetting level in Practice Mode
Fixed the issue where Grock’s Guardian’s Barrier Skill 2 gets the target stuck in the wall in some cases
MOBILE LEGENDS UPDATE – 1.5.24
Update 1.5.24 brings a variety of balancing changes to Mobile Legends. Here are the main changes to heroes and the battlefield:
Granger
Attribute: physical attack growth: 16 → 18
Ultimate: base damage: 30-120 → 80-160
Karrie
Passive: max HP ratio of damage: 6-12% → 8%-12%
Saber
Skill 1: base penetration damage: 192-252 → 210-260
Ling
Ultimate: cooldown: 42-36s → 52-46s
Hilda
Ultimate: damage increase of each stack of power of wildness: 50-60 → 25-35
Mathilda
Passive: max movement speed gain: 50%80 points base damage of enhanced basic attack: 100 → 150
Skill 2: base shield: 550-800 → 600-900 magic power bonus: 180% → 160%
Now she can cast Skill 2 during her Ultimate, but won’t move again.
Ultimate: removed immobilization effect
Max circling duration: 3s → 2s
New effect: enemies attacked by wisps are slowed by 20% for 0.45
Largely increased the width of knockback effect
Revamped Clint
Skill 1: max range of the fan-shaped area: 6 → 5.5
Ultimate (heavy-sword)(1): physical attack bonus of the first two attacks: 130% → 140%
Cecilion
Skill 1: reverted to the 30% movement speed boost
Battlefield and system adjustments
Turret energy shield lasts 210s → 300s
In the first three minutes, now the pop-up reminder appears each time you’ve killed six minions with Jungle Equipment Items instead of killing three minions.
Crammer: base gold bonus increased by 20%.
Crimson Lizard: base gold bonus increased by 20%.
Little Crab: refreshed every 20s instead of 15s. Becomes crab at the 180s instead of the 90s.
Wind of Nature: unique passive-wind chant: Cooldown: 80 → 70s
MOBILE LEGENDS UPDATE – 1.5.22
The latest Mobile Legends update brings a host of balance changes to the game, nerfing a lot of problematic heroes’ early game potential.
Here’s a break down of every change made in the update:
Mathilda
Passive (nerfed)
Base Damage of Enhanced Basic Attack: 150 → 100
Magic Power Bonus: 80% → 100%
Skill 1 (nerfed)
Cooldown: 6.5-5s → 7.5s
Magic Power Bonus: 50% → 60%
Damage Decay Ratio: 75-90% → 40-70%
Mana Cost: 60-100 → 90-140
Skill animation greatly shortened
Skill 2 (buffed)
Cooldown: 15-10s → 13-10s
Magic Power Bonus of Shield: 100% → 180%
Skill animation greatly shortened
Ultimate (nerfed)
The first attack removed Wisp Damage: 64-80 → 40-50
Magic Power Bonus: 20% → 10%
Magic Power Bonus of Shield: 120% → 180%
Yve
Skill 1 (nerfed)
Mana Cost: 45-80 → 65-90
Ultimate (nerfed)
Cooldown: 45-35s → 55-45s
Slow Effect: 0.8s → 1.5s
Revamped Clint
Passive (nerfed)
Basic Attack Enhancement Ratio: 140% → 130%
Skill 1 (nerfed)
Damage Decay Ratio: 25% → 20%
Lapu-Lapu
Skill 1 (nerfed)
Ultimate (Twin Blade nerfed)
Base Damage: 350-550 → 300-500
Bruno
Skill 1 (buffed):
Base Damage: 95-245 → 120-270
Mana Cost: 90-140 → 75-125
Baxia
Passive (nerfed):
Damage Reduction: 35 → 25
Skill 2 (buffed):
Max HP Bonus of Damage: 5% → 6%
Ultimate (nerfed):
Base Damage: 50-70 → 40-60
Damage Reduction Boost: 75% → 140%
Total Damage Reduction effect almost unchanged
Belerick
Attribute (buffed):
Base HP: 2719 → 2819
HP Growth: 235 → 245
Skill 2 (buffed):
Restoration of HP Lost: 8% → 10%
Movement Speed Boost increased (decaying over time)
Ultimate (buffed):
Skill animation and backswing slightly shortened.
Barats
Passive:
Shield provided by each stack of Big Guy: 5 → 3-6 (grows at Lv. 4, 8, and 12)
Ultimate (nerfed):
His damage doesn’t grow with increased body size anymore.
New Effect: Devouring the target will recover up to 20% of Max HP.
Natural gold gain is changed from 2 gold every is to 5 gold every 2s.
Natural EXP gain is adjusted, but the number of each minute is almost the same as before.
Fixed the issue where minions go directly to the enemy base in some cases.
Fixed the abnormal indicator when Kimmy uses Basic Attack after casting Skill 1.
Fixed the issue of Nana’s Passive when she is resurrected by Faramis.
Removed the Walkie Grass that follows the killer of Lithowanderer. Movement Speed Boost remains the same.
Advanced Server – 1.5.18
Yve
Passive (nerfed)
Removed Movement Speed gain
Skill 1 (buffed)
Base Damage: 330-450 → 275-400
Magic Power Bonus: 135% → 80%
Slow effect in central area → Double damage in central area
Skill 2 (buffed)
Slow effect: 30% → 30%-60% (this will scale with the number of hits landed)
Ultimate (buffed)
The area of starfield has been increased by 20%
Tap damage delay: 0.3s – 0.4s
Enemy heroes who come into contact with the border will now be stunned for 0.8s
Revamped Clint
Passive (buffed)
The penetration distance of Clint’s enhanced basic attack has been increased by 0.5 yards
Skill 1 (altered)
Base damage: 200-300 → 260-410
Physical attack bonus: 60% → 80%
Decay ratio of following bullets: 40% → 25%
Skill 2 (altered)
2-sec slow effect → 1.2-sec immobilization
Ultimate (buffed)
Base Damage: 280-380 → 280-400
Now slows the target hit by 25% for 1.2s
Revamped Lapu-Lapu
The feeling of using his ultimate when in heavy-sword stance has been optimised the control feeling of his ultimate in heavy-sword stance
Ultimate (buffed)
After casting his heavy-sword ultimate, Lapu-Lapu is now able to alter his movement direction instead of defaulting to a forward slash. You can now change your slash direction more precisely
Lunox
Ultimate (altered)
Chaos ultimate’s base damage after blink: 300 → 250-450
Battlefield and system adjustments
Fixed issue where the creeps would blink to the spawn point after leaving combat
The alert sound of certain creeps has been tweaked
Faramis will no longer get assists when nearby enemy heroes die if he hasn’t dealt any damage to them
Incorrect skill descriptions for Alpha, Aldous, Badang, Gusion, Leomord, Masha, and Sun have been fixed
Issue where Vale could not get assists by using his ultimate to control enemies has been addressed
Incorrect number of HP/mana regen has been fixed
You can now see your win rate when swapping heroes in Draft Pick during the last stage of prep
It’s been over two months since the first episode of Project NEXT Express. Finally, it’s available today! Log in now to check the new battlefield, heroes, skins, special effects, UI, and MORE! Which adjustment do you like most? Share with us!#MobileLegendsBangBang#ProjectNextpic.twitter.com/BXCfaG6VQE
Mobile Legends’ Project NEXT has finally made its grand debut today. Next time you log in, you’ll see some fresh skins, special effects, improved heroes, a new battlefield, and an updated UI.
The idea behind NEXT is to update some of the game’s older heroes who perhaps need a bit more love and attention. The updated heroes are rolling out in phases, with phase one improving upon six existing characters.
Give the trailer embedded above a quick watch to see some of NEXT’s major highlights.
Also note that all of the following heroes now benefit from new models, entrance animations, and voiceover lines. Without further ado, here’s a full list of tweaks and improvements:
Miya
Major adjustments to her passive skill, which also now benefits from an added effect
Minor adjustments to her secondary skill and ultimate skill
Second skill has been reworked
Saber
Minor adjustments to his passive skill and second skill
Major adjustments to his first skill and ultimate skill
Eudora
Minor adjustments to her passive skill
New effects for her first skill, second arrow, and ultimate skill
Zilong
Major adjustments to his passive skill and ultimate skill
New effects for his second skill
Layla
Minor adjustments and new effects for her first skill and ultimate skill
New effects for her second skill
Alucard
Major adjustments to his passive skill
Minor adjustments to his ultimate skill
Upcoming: Mobile Legends update – 1.5.14
Even before 1.5.12 arrives on the public server, its successor, 1.5.14, has made it onto the advanced server. It includes the revamped version of Clint, some balancing for the upcoming Mobile Legends new heroes, and a bunch of balancing for existing heroes.
Here’s what to expect:
Clint
Quick Draw now causes basic attacks to penetrate in a line through targets, dealing +120% total physical attack, following a skill
Blind Smoke fires five bullets, each dealing 300 (+40% total physical attack) physical damage, in a fan-shaped area
Heel Rope deals 240 (+30% total physical attack and +150% total magic power) to a single enemy, slowing them for two seconds and causing Clint to jump back
Howitzer deals 350 (+80% total physical attack) damage to a designated area, and can be used up to five times. A single grenade restores every 12 seconds
Yve
Galactic Power now increases Yve’s movement speed per stack by 3%, up from 2%
Void Blast has a shorter cooldown, and increased damage and magic power bonus
Meteor Fall has a longer cooldown, increased mana cost, and now deals 210 (+20% total magic power) damage every 0.45 seconds six times
Real World Manipulation’s starfield duration has been reduced to ten seconds, tap damage has been increased to one second, and slide damage has been increased by 30% along with duration
Brody
Abyss Impact now slows 45% per stack, up from 40, and deals 50% less damage to minions
Corrosive Strike now increases movement speed to 45%, up from 30%
Fixed a bug that allowed a skill to be continuously cast
Benedetta
Elapsed Daytime will now deal damage to minions at the end of the dash
Lapu-Lapu
Justice Blade’s boomerangs will now stay longer at the destination
Chieftain’s Rage has a shorter skill animation, increased backswing, and has an AoE reduction of 30%
Justice Blade’s heavy variant has a shorter skill animation and increased backswing
Brave Stance’s heavy variant has an increased backswing
Chieftain’s Rage’s heavy variant has an increased animation on the third swing, and the AoE has changed to a round area from a fan area
Alice
Flowing Blood’s cooldown has increased to five seconds, from four
Granger
Rhapsody’s base damage has increased to 195, from 180
Terizla
Execution Strike has a shorter cooldown of 5.5 seconds, down from seven seconds
Martis
Ashura Aura now deals 650 damage, up from 540
Decimate has had a reduction in the decay speed of the movement speed buff from killing an enemy
Silvanna
Spiral Strangling has a magic power bonus increase to 50%, from 35%
Imperial Justice’s magic lifesteal has changed to 80-120%, from a previous flat gain of 100%
Balmond
Bloodthirst now restores HP by 7% after killing a minion or creep, up from 6%
Vale
Windtalk now provides five more movement speed per stack, but has had a stack limit decrease to ten, from 12
Wind Blade: Scatter has had a cooldown reduction to four, from five
Windblow’s Fix variant has had a base damage increase to 225, up from 215
Windblow’s Control variant has had an airborne duration deduction to one second, down from 1.1
Other adjustments
Outer Turret shields will now last 210 seconds, up from 180, and will now provide 60% ranged damage reduction and 30% melee damage reduction, rather than the original 50% flat damage reduction
Gold obtained from the shield will now display as a number
The colour and visual effect of shields has been optimised, and will show on the map
Minions will now deal 75 damage to shields, up from 50
Lithowanderer will now provide a 25% increased base gold bonus
Raptor Machete will now reduce the physical defence and slow the target by ten and 30% respectively, with the slow lasting for 1.5 seconds
Queen’s Wings has a new visual effect
Athena’s Shield now reduces magic damage taken by 25 for five seconds when taking magic damage, with a cooldown of ten seconds while out of combat
Antique Cuirass no longer reduces magic power, and reduces physical attack damage by 10%, up from 6%
Dreadnaught Armour has had the same change, except the physical attack reduction is 6%, up from 4%
You can find more miscellaneous bug fixes and adjustments in a detailed post on the Mobile Legends wiki.
uPCOMING: MOBILE LEGENDS UPDATE – 1.5.12
The upcoming Mobile Legends 1.5.12, which is currently available on the advanced server, mostly focuses on bug fixes and balancing adjustments.
Here are the highlights:
Brody
Basic attack now benefits from physical lifesteal
Abyss Impact has a slow effect, longer cooldown, and a base damage decrease
Torn-Apart Memory has a longer cooldown
Benedetta
Alecto: Final Blow now features increased base damage and a longer duration for the initial slow effect
Alice
Blood Ancestry will now grant Alice 50 mana per blood orb
Blood Ode’s base damage has been decreased
Aurora
Frost Shock’s base damage has been increased
Bitter Frost’s base damage has decreased, along with the magic power bonus
Kadita
Ocean Oddity’s base damage has been increased and the damage reduction has been decreased
Chang’e
Starmoon Shockwave’s slow effect, and maximum slow effect, has been reduced
Crescent Moon’s base damage has been increased while the magic power bonus has been decreased
Balmond
Bloodthirst’s HP restored after killing minions and creeps has been increased
Cyclone Sweep no longer receives a damage increase against minions
Upcoming: Project Next
Project Next is the title of a series of balancing changes due to arrive at some point in 2020 that aims to improve older heroes who have become outshone by more recent introductions.
While we don’t know exactly what to expect, we do expect the following changes:
Eudora
Superconductor now causes increased magic damage on Forked Lightning, stuns three enemies plus the target and reduces magic defence on Electric Arrow, and deals AoE damage on Thunder’s Wrath
Thunder’s Wrath now only works on targeted enemy heroes
Saber
Flying Sword now has five attacks
Saber’s basic attacks and skills cause the flying swords to attack the target
Charge now makes Saber’s basic attacks slow enemies
Triple Sweep now deals double damage on the final blow
Miya
Moon Blessing now reveals the number of stacks above Miya’s head, and summons Moonlight Shadow dealing massive damage at maximum stacks
Arrow of Eclipse now immobilizes enemies immediately, and can split into 8 arrows to deal additional physical damage and slow the target
Alucard
Pursuit no longer deals additional damage when Alucard attacks two targets, though the enhanced physical damage overall has been increased to 50%
Fission Wave now marks all nearby targets, which causes Pursuit to deal 50% more damage when multiple enemies are hit
Layla
Malefic Bomb now temporarily increases Layla’s movement speed and attack range when it hits
Void Projectile now marks an enemy, allowing Layla to deal additional physical damage and slow them on hit
Destruction Rush increases Layla’s attack range for basic attacks and Void Projectile, and also increases Layla’s camera height
Zilong
Dragon Flurry now enhances the fourth basic attack. healing Zilong
Spear Flip’s physical defence reduction has been removed
Spear Strike now reduces the target’s physical defence and will refresh when Zilong kills an enemy
Supreme Warrior now reduces the basic attacks needed to activate enhanced basic attack from three to two
Mobile Legends update – 1.5.08 patch notes
The latest Mobile Legends update is rife with balancing adjustments, new content, and general optimisations. We’ll walk you through the big changes.
Fairness adjustments
You won’t lose a star for the first match of the week that you lose while an AFK player is on your team
The experience and rewards granted to the AFK player will be shared to the rest of the group at the end of a match
Only duo queue and triple queue players will now be matched against triple queue players
When matchmaking, Mobile Legends will now take into account player level, medal points, win rate, and rank to promote more balanced matches
Balance adjustments
The below balance adjustments are just a few of the highlights for the upcoming patch. There are more to come when it arrives.
Veil’s AoE attack’s cooldown has been reduced to three seconds, from six, and it will deal more continuous damage
Ruby’s AoE attack’s cooldown has been reduced to four seconds, from six
Yu Zhong’s regen ability is reduced and his ultimate deals less damage
Ling’s mobility has been reduced
Atlas’s combos have seen a reduction in damage
Luo Yi, Yi Sun-shin, Natalia, Karina, Helcurt, Claude, Kaja, Uranus, Gatotkaca, Terizla, Kimmy, Esmeralda, and Aldous will also see adjustments
Zombie-ridden turn-based mobile RPG Heroes War: Counterattack is now available for Apple App Store and Google Play Store users. The latest mobile game from publisher Com2uS, Heroes War: Counterattack is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly disease, known as the “Z Virus,” has wiped out most of humanity. Players devote themselves to one of two warring factions and must simultaneously survive the growing infected population.
Dormant under glaciers, the Z Virus was released due to global warming and soon wreaked havoc on over 30 percent of the human population in the world of Heroes War: Counterattack. A massive corporation rushes to produce a vaccine, but it proves futile against the rapid spread of the virus. With humanity crippled by the Z Virus, Heroes War: Counterattack has players command one of two factions: Survivors Union, a force of non-infected humans using powerful and mysterious “Neostones,” or the Harz Alliance, infected but conscious humans gifted with superhuman abilities from the virus.
Heroes War: Counterattack’s strategic RPG gameplay includes hours of PvE and PvP content surrounded by an innovative battle system that combines classic turn-based strategy with a new counterattacking mechanic that lets players turn the tide of any fight.
There’s also less focus on collecting new characters than most games in the genre, instead opting for a robust character development system. Players looking for a story-driven single-player experience can check out the PvE portion which includes:
A campaign for each faction that examines the lore behind the Survivors Union and the Harz Alliance with various dungeons and story chapters
Battle Center which encompasses a variety of different dungeons and rewards players with Badges, Cores and EXP Boosters
Trace Specimens mode, which pits players against bosses, Isard and Trivia, in order to farm equipment
Players looking to go head-to-head in multiplayer can check out the following PvP modes:
Arena – An asynchronous multiplayer mode where players battle it out to earn Arena Points
MercenaryMissions – These include “Search” and “Occupation” missions. Search tasks players to find and destroy as many hidden Blowbys as possible. Occupation has players control and hold bases with battle reinforcements. Rewards for completing Mercenary missions include Gold and Mercenary points.
In the last couple of years, the legendary Japanese game publisher Taito has been making its return to the console market. In the Western market, it’s been doing that in association with ININ Games and Strictly Limited Games. We’ve seen some amazing collections of the Darius series made available, but for its latest effort Taito is going back to its roots. The Space Invaders Invincible Collection was made available as a physical release through Strictly Limited Games, with pre-orders opening during the summer.
For those who prefer a digital release, a special selection of titles from that set has been brought together as Space Invaders Forever, due to hit the eShop on December 15th alongside a digital PS4 release. Space Invaders Forever will also be available as a physical release. We had the good fortune to talk to Taito’s Yuichi Toyama, the director of Space Invaders Invincible Collection. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the new release.
TouchArcade (TA): How did you go about selecting the titles to appear in Space Invaders Forever?
Yuichi Toyama (YT): For Space Invaders Forever, rather than include the original Space Invaders and its sequels we wanted to give players a simple way to experience new titles in the series, previously released on other platforms. So please pick it up if you’re curious as to how the franchise has evolved.
Extreme is a title that brings a unique groove to the shooting game genre by synchronizing the beat of the background music with the game’s sound effects.
Arkanoid vs Space Invaders, or Arkavader as we call it, is a completely new type of Space Invaders played on a touch screen / touch pad, fusing the bat and ball gameplay of Arkanoid with Space Invaders.
Gigamax 4SE is a four-player co-op shooting game with a newly arranged stage design for consoles, unlike the versions that ran across Japan as attractions.
Every one of these Space Invaders have a unique appeal, so please give them a go!
TA: Space Invaders Extreme has seen a few re-releases in the past, but Space Invaders Extreme 2 has yet to be revived. Any chance of that in the future?
YT: We receive occasional requests to port Space Invader Extreme 2, and it gets me wondering how much of its popularity is down to the featured song, “Invader GIRL“, with its cute, sampled voices. Of course, if there’s a strong demand from players, Space Invaders EXTREME 2 could be released on a new platform too!
The key to reviving a game is how strong a fan base it has, so if there is a game or character from Taito that you would like to see revived, please let us (@TaitoCorp) know and we will do our best to make it happen. If the fans make enough noise, we might be able to make it happen!
TA: I know you’re not supposed to pick a favorite child, but which of the included games is your favorite and why?
YT: Let me think… Space Invaders Extreme is a blend of sound and shooting which proves both groovy and exhilarating to play.
Space Invaders Gigamax 4SE is the first game in the series to be played by four players, and the co-operative nature of the game is a lot of fun, especially with friends and family.
Then I like the ability to play as many different Taito characters in Arkavaders. Saya from Kiki Kaikai‘s ability to control the direction of the ball is a high point.
It turns out it’s just like picking a favorite child; I love them all too much to choose! (laughs)
TA: Space Invaders is one of the oldest and most enduring brands in video games. Why do you think the series has been able to connect with players for so many years and across literal generations?
YT: In 1978, there was no other game with so many enemies moving at once, or with the strategic element which stemmed from dodging enemy attacks while fighting back, and as a result it won the hearts and minds of players back then.
I think it’s also down to the simplicity of the characters. 8×8 pixel characters and their animation, which left a lasting impression on many people’s minds. Then, from the 1970s to the present, many ports and derivative works have been released on a variety of platforms, keeping the characters and brand in the public eye and maintaining its popularity.
In Japan, symbols can be seen everywhere from Taito’s arcade chains (the Invader logo is used as the sign for Taito Station arcades) to a large and ever-expanding catalogue of merchandise. You can find out more about the merchandise in the color pages of the booklet included with the ‘Invincible Collection’ Collector’s Edition.
TA: Between the Invincible Collection and Space Invaders Forever, we’ve seen most of the series brought back for modern gamers. What’s next for Space Invaders?
YT: We have a few things in mind, but we’ll let you know when the time is right to share them with you. So please look forward to them!
Other than that, please let us know (@TaitoCorp) if there’s any series or title you really want to see revived or remade as the more demand we can see, the easier it is to make something happen!
And of course, Darius Cozmic Collection and Darius Cozmic Revelation have already been released, so if you haven’t played them yet, please do so too!
TA: Do you have any messages you would like to share with our readers about Space Invaders and Space Invaders Forever?
YT: There have been many Space Invaders ports, sequels, spin-offs and licensed products released to date. It has been both fun and difficult to take such a huge number of titles and put them together into a cohesive product that players both want and need and release them with all the constraints involved.
Space Invaders is not only Taito’s signature game, but it also provides our ‘face’ with the Invaders mark being part of our logo. The title ‘Space Invaders Forever‘ may well include our desire to promote the future development of the franchise, its characters and the company Taito has become.
Thank you for your support!
Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? A big thank you to Toyama-san for taking the time to answer our questions, and thanks to the folks at PR Hound for facilitating. Space Invaders Forever will be available physically on the Switch and PlayStation 4 from tomorrow, and digitally on both from December 15th. The Space Invaders Invincible Collection is available physically at Strictly Limited Games.
Master the Meta is a free newsletter focused on analysing the business strategy of the gaming industry. MTM and PG.biz have partnered on a weekly column to not only bring you industry moving news, but also short analyses on each. To check out this week’s entire meta, visit www.masterthemeta.com!
Last week, Istanbul-based Bigger Games announced its $6 million raise, led by Index Ventures. The highly-competed casual puzzle genre – which represents roughly 10 per cent of the mobile gaming market – continues to attract venture capital, as Bigger Games joins the race for the next big thing.
The casual puzzle market is certainly big and juicy at over $6 billion yearly revenues in in-app-purchases only(note: source numbers have the platform share deducted). Unsurprisingly, it’s also the most fiercely competed area within mobile, dominated by the big incumbents Playrix (Gardenscapes), King (Candy Crush Saga), Peak (Toon Blast), and AppLovin (Matchington Mansion).
New entrants to the casual puzzle market will need to best not only the incumbent corporations, but also the several other startups aiming for the same goal. The core team of Bigger Games is from Peak, as is the core team of the fellow Istanbul company Dream Games. The competition does not stop at Turkish companies though. In fact, there’s a clear pattern of ex-corporate puzzle veterans going for their own thing and raising sizable early-stage money for it:
To fully realise the upside in these investments, these five companies will need to deliver top-notch games that rival the Candy Crushes and Toon Blasts of this world. That said, getting a high-quality game out of the door might not be enough.
In order to scale up the user count and revenue for a casual puzzle game one needs both the kick-ass product and the well-oiled marketing machine that churns out ad creative fast and runs direct response campaigns at scale. As their competition is prepared to wait for 12+ months to get their money back from their marketing investment (thus pushing up advertising prices), companies competing in this genre need sizable amounts of capital to grow.
All in all, despite high barriers to scale, new competition in a classic genre such as casual puzzle is certainly welcome; any of these teams could be set to upset the bigwigs of puzzle games. Based on the impressive background of these teams, I for one look forward to the games they will put out. (written by Miikka Ahonen)
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